Sport, Media and Culture with a Year in Industry
Swansea University
UCAS Code: P36I | Bachelor of Arts - BA
Swansea University
UCAS Code: P36I | Bachelor of Arts - BA
Entry requirements
A level
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Swansea University accepts the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales as fully equivalent to x1 A-Level.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
Our four-year Sport, Media and Culture, BA (Hons) with a Year in Industry degree programme equips you with a future career as a professional sports content creator and communicator across the contemporary sports mediascape.
This highly practical course allows you to study subjects such as sports journalism, sports commentary, and sports promotion. Through the study of theoretical constructs such as fandom, sports journalism, national identity and sports narratives, students will see how our abiding interest in sport has shaped how we view the world. Students will always develop a robust understanding of the contemporary sports mediascape.
The third year of this 4-year course with a Year in Industry will be spent on placement. You will have the opportunity to gain real-world industry experience and develop your employability skill set. We have a strong network of industry contacts, and you will receive dedicated support from our employability team, ranging from CV advice through to mock interviews.
Changes in how we consume sport means that the traditional legacy media model (newspapers, TV broadcasts, radio) has been hugely interrupted, with many sports organisations now opting to communicate directly with fans. Simply knowing how to write a match report or interview the triumphant winner and the beaten rival is no longer enough.
With all this in mind, this course has been developed to ensure you will graduate as a skilled and competent sports content creator, equipped with journalistic skills, and adept at creating and promoting multi-media sports-focused content, from podcasts to match reports and from sports commentary to promotional sports communication strategies.
**Why Sport, Media and Culture at Swansea?**
You will be taught by academics who have a wide range of industry experience and will benefit from access to industry-standard filming, editing and design facilities. In addition, our close links with sports organisations such as Swansea City FC, the Ospreys, and our partnership with Sport Swansea means that you will gain a sports communications industry perspective across your degree programme.
This programme is based within our Media, Communication, Journalism and PR department. Media at Swansea is ranked:
- 8th in the UK for Student Satisfaction (Complete University Guide 2025)
- 8th in the UK for Student Experience (Times Good University Guide 2025)
- 10th in the UK for Teaching Quality (Times Good University Guide 2025)
This course is based on our stunning Singleton Park campus, in parkland overlooking Swansea Bay on the edge of the Gower Peninsula. You will also be within close proximity to Swansea city, a vibrant, multi-cultural, safe and cost-effective city.
**Your Sport, Media and Culture Experience**
Our Sport, Media and Culture programme has been designed to allow you to develop and apply a practical multi-dimensional skillset. On completion of the programme, the successful student will know how to find an interesting and compelling sports news story, write that story for publication, film and/or record that story for broadcast or for their podcast, edit the package so that it can be broadcast in various formats, and know how to drive audiences and promote that story.
Developed with employability as one of its cornerstones, the programme maps out viable employment routes into the sports mediascape, culminating in the opportunity to undertake a range of sports communication placement options in the third year of your studies.
Outside of your studies you will be part of a supportive student community and will be able to get involved in many different sports clubs and societies including the Media society.
Modules
In Year 1, you will typically study areas including: Introduction to Media Communication; Delivering and Decoding the News; Pitch Invasion: Sport and its Impact on Society; Principles of Mediation; Creative Media Platforms; and Public Relations: Strategic Communications.
In Year 2, you will typically study areas including: Theorising the Media; All Ears - an Introduction to the Art of Podcasting; Pitch Perfect: Sports Commentary and Punditry; Introduction to Film Production; Professional Development: Preparing for Work; Public Relations Theory in Action; Creative Media Practice; Social Media Cultures; Investigating Text, Process and Audiences; Media Law; and Pop Culture and Alternative News Genres.
The third year of this 4-year course with a Year in Industry will typically be spent on placement. You will have the opportunity to gain real-world industry experience and develop your employability skill set. We have a strong network of industry contacts, and you will receive dedicated support from our employability team, ranging from CV advice through to mock interviews.
In Year 4, you will typically study areas including: Sports Public Relations; Dissertation Preparation; Documentary and Fiction Filmmaking; Reporting the 21st Century; Game Over - Press Start to Continue: Critical Game Studies; Professional Sports Communication Placement; Strategy, Marketing and Branding; Practical Web Technologies; Journalism in Practice; Guerrilla Campaigns: Subversive and Interruptive PR; Media and Communication Internship. You will undertake a dissertation.
Assessment methods
We are proud to provide an outstanding educational experience, using the most effective learning and teaching approaches, carefully tailored to suit the specific needs of your course. Apart from a small number of online-only courses, most of our courses consist of in-person, on-campus teaching, enabling full engagement with your lecturers and fellow students. Practical skills sessions, lab work seminars, and workshops predominantly take place in person, allowing for group working and demonstrations. We also operate virtual labs and Simulated Learning Environments which will facilitate greater access to training opportunities in the future. However, our approach also includes the use of some online learning to support and enhance traditional face-to-face teaching. Online learning may take place ‘live’ using software such as Zoom, allowing you to interact with the lecturer and other students and to ask questions. Lecture recordings also allow for more flexibility to revisit material, to revise for assessments and to enhance learning outside of the classroom. Some modules have extra resources in Canvas, such as videos, slides and quizzes enabling further flexible study. This course may offer some modules taught through the medium of Welsh or bilingually for students who consider themselves to be fluent Welsh speakers. For more details on the provision available see the Welsh Provision expander below.
The Uni
Singleton Park Campus
College of Arts and Humanities
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Media studies
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Sport and exercise sciences
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Journalism
Sorry, no information to show
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Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Media studies
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Only a small number of students study courses within this catch-all subject area, so there isn't a lot of information available on what graduates do when they finish - bear that in mind when you look at any stats. Marketing and PR were the most likely jobs for graduates from these courses, but it's sensible to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course, and what previous graduates did.
Sport and exercise sciences
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
One of the fastest growing subjects in the country, the number of sports science graduates went from under 3,000 in 2003 to over 10,000 in 2013. Numbers have fallen slightly since 2015, but we still have over 9,000 graduates in the subject. However, the good news is the country's appetite for good health and fitness - and the adaptability of graduates in the subject - means that sports science grads are less likely than average to be out of work. Sports science graduates, not surprisingly, tend to get jobs in sport, fitness and health - coaching and teaching especially - but they're found all over the economy. Management and business are also popular options for graduates from this subject — and sports science graduates are particularly found where drive, determination and physical fitness are an advantage.
Journalism
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Media studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
£22k
£24k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Sport and exercise sciences
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£25k
£28k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Journalism
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
£22k
£24k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
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It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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